Living in an apartment during college can be the highlight of a
student's life. You're away from home, living with friends. You
don't yet have the stresses of a full time job. You only have a
few hours of class a day. And there are always opportunities for
fun. How can you maximize this chance to live while still
keeping school your priority?
First, it's important to have a common understanding amongst
your roommates that school is the priority during the week.
Everyone has different class schedules, so for some of your
roommates Thursday night is the weekend or perhaps Wednesday's
classes don't start until the afternoon. Hopefully you chose
roommates who will be courteous enough to understand that you
have a different schedule then they do.
If weeknight partying continues despite your reminders, you may
have to scout out some alternate study zones. In my experience,
obvious studying areas such as the library or a coffee shop near
campus are poor choices. They are typically overrun with
students and can, ironically, get quite distracting. Look
instead to some smaller study areas around campus or perhaps a
nearby public library.
If the problem isn't just getting your studying done, but
getting your sleep in, things are much more serious. It would be
ridiculous to start sleeping somewhere else since your spending
hundreds of dollars a month to stay at your apartment. At this
point, a more serious confrontation with the offending roommates
may be in order.
In such a confrontation, roommate alliances will play a major
role. If you're up against three other party people, there may
not be much you can accomplish unless you get an authority
involved. However, at this point do you really want to continue
living with these people? You may need to start looking for a
new place to live in this extreme case. Otherwise, you can
probably work out an agreement. Restraining from hosting
weeknight parties will seem reasonable to most people when you
explain your 8:00 classes.
Keeping the communication channels open is vital to living with
college roommates. Always be willing to give a little and
chances are they will return the favor. Keep on the lookout for
some out of the way study spaces so you can get out of your
apartment and remember to maintain good relationships with your
roommates in case you need their backup.